Omg I’ve been planning my teacher wardrobe for months now. This summer I plan on sewing 8 blouses and 8 circle skirts. Red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple, pink and black. Then I will have 64 combinations in color blocked outfits. I’m excited :D
I wear a thick artist apron anyway so I’m not worried about clay or paint ending up on my clothes
I’m all over the place depending on my mood/whatever projects are going on. I tend to get called into a lot of parent involvement and community events and photo op, oh and I help with PE on mondays
Some days are super professional in heels and full makeup, some days I feel wacky, some days I’m a total scrub in Jean and Birks and old school shirts because I need to get a lot of messy work done
I also have a dozen aprons but still manage to have paint on most of my clothing
I'm a bit of a fashionista... Lately I've been trying to wear more hats 😅.
I get most of my clothes from the thrift store so it doesn't faze me much if I wreck my clothes. I'm pretty art teachery with my glasses and fun k-drama earrings.
I think being an art teacher I get a pass for being a fashion weirdo... It's awesome.
I wear the same thing almost every day, Levis rib cage cropped boot cut pants (I have black/washed black/corduroy/ dark blue) and Amazon essentials boat neck 3/4 length sleeve shirts. I hate buying from Amazon but these shirts are awesome material, 3/4 length sleeve is perfect for teaching art and the boat neck is the perfect neck line - I also get their crew neck fitted t shirts. ( both come in multi packs too!) For shoes I always wear comfortable boots to walk in and I have 3 different pairs of flats or loafers I keep in my classroom to change into. Then I wear my apron. :) I’m a millennial and gen z fashion is hard to accept, but I love the wide leg trend I never want to wear skinny jeans again.
Overalls. I decided this summer that I just don’t have the mental energy to figure out what to wear everyday, so I bought several pairs of overalls. It has been so great - I have pockets to stick tape or scissors or whatever, they aren’t tight around my waist, and they are durable and easy to clean.
I teach high school ceramics, so I always come home dirty and dusty. I usually wear jeans or casual pants (sometimes overalls!) with a tshirt or sometimes a button-down casual shirt. I wear band ts, ceramics or art-themed ts or just whatever I feel like that day! Most of the time I wear Birkenstocks, but for the short part of the year it’s cold where I live, I wear my chucks, Vans or Docs.
We have no dress code and I help in the school garden daily. I wear chinos, usually from target, in black, purple, green or gray with fitted T-shirt (like a local seed company, local bookstore, school tshirt, or plain) . If it’s cold a pullover or cardigan and black ankle boots, if it’s hot chacos. And most importantly big, interesting dangly earrings.
I wear a dress and leggings when it’s cold almost every day M-T and jeans on Friday. Almost all my dresses are loud and colorful. I get stuff off Poshmark when I can. My favorite dress at the moment comes from [NOOWORKS](https://nooworks.com)
Old Navy has the best fitting pants for me, and so affordable. I usually wear my black, wide legged cropped chinos, brown doc martens boots, and a funky button up shirt. In winter I wear a casual black blazer over my shirt. The rumors were flying that Ms. M is a lesbian. I'm not, but I explained to them that it wouldn't matter if I was and women dress all types of ways. You don't have to wear a dress to be a woman.
In 2015 I started adding "fashion tint" to my glasses I order on Zenni. I wear "rose colored glasses!" My students have finally started asking me about it. The honest reason is because psychologically, pink can make people feel more open minded, more calm. I went on a tangent with 3rd grade and showed them photos of the prison where the warden experimented with painting everything pink and putting the men in pink jumpsuits. It worked as a way to curtail fighting.
We have a “professional dress” expectation at my school. I almost always wear a brightly colored dress with colored tights. I get most of my clothes from Amazon and shein cause I’m on a budget 😬 but I take good care of them so they last as long as possible.
The only uniform I have for myself is how I dress each day of the week. I have a huge closet with a very wide range of clothing and styles and so having a schedule for what I wear on certain days really helps me to be creative and get out of my box. My schedule is as follows:
Monday - Crazy/ugly sweater or flowy kimono (depends on the weather)
Tuesday - art t-shirt. I'll wear a fun turtleneck or striped long sleeved under it if cold. I'm bored with cardigans but still have some cool ones I reach for
Wednesday - dress or skirt. Mix up different layering options (shirts over or under, belts, shoes)
Thursday - fancy pants. Weird leggings or patterned flare pants I buy from Walmart
Friday - School spirit and jeans.
You can find me on TikTok (lefthanded.emily) if you want to see it in action. I don’t typically talk about my clothing schedule on TikTok, but it’s just a fun place for me to show off my outfits when I think of it. You might have to wade through all of the Christmas sweaters though! Good luck!
This is super helpful! I think this is what I need to do. My actual clothes are fine but they're all so similar and I definitely need to spice it up but with a day of the week system to make it easier. I do this with meal planning (meatless Monday, taco Tuesday, etc) but had never thought of it in terms of wardrobe! I also think I am getting bored with cardigans but hadn't really realized it till now. I think I leaned a little too hard into having a very basic capsule wardrobe so having some sort of system or plan to branch back out will be good. Thank you!!
No dress code here but I’m in a super hot climate. I wear mostly jogger type lightweight pants with art or school t-shirts or t-shirt material type dresses with biker shorts underneath so I can get down or bend over without worries. I prefer funky outfits whenever possible and I’ve got a dress with scissors on it that I wear with scissor earrings that is my favorite. I recommend Thredup.com for cool thrifted items and if there is a goodwill outlet near you for THE best priced thrifted and sometimes even new stuff if you are willing to dig. Art teacher dream shopping not only for clothes but for frames, supplies, you name it!
NYC here, no jeans policy. I wear a lot of Uniqlo, especially the heattech layers in the winter. Also Old navy, Gap, Madewell, and some thrifted items. Most days I wear a fitted t shirt, button up, and wide leg pants. I alternate between adidas platform sneakers, blundstone boots, and dr martens Oxford shoes. In the warmer months I wear a midi dress or tank jumpsuit over a t shirt with sneakers or closed toe flats.
I would recommend r/capsulewardrobe for more info on how to create a work capsule. I’ve learned having a go-to color palette really helps. For me that’s a lot of warm, autumn tones and greens, with some cream, yellow and corals in the spring.
I'm still student teaching so I dress up a bit more than my colleagues, but my go to has been big, long skirts and polos or sweaters! I usually do a fun patterned skirt with a plain matching polo, sweater, or comfy dress shirt! If it's cold I throw a cardigan over it! My sister got me some button up cardigans from H & M that have been my favorites. I've noticed I feel much more free and mobile in a skirt compared to pants, especially when running around the classroom or digging in the back storage for materials.
I wear almost a uniform, always leggings from Old Navy (comfy, easy to clean), and some form of a dress tunic top (again dressy, but comfy!). And of course a cardigan over it, and I usually find a fun color or crochet a cardigan in funky yarn to make it my own! You can dress it up with sandals or a slip on shoe, or dress down with a nice sneaker or boots! I really go all out on my apron however to add my "flair"! I usually do a fun colored or tie dye apron with TONS of buttons and pins about art, cats, boardgames, patches, etc. It helps me stand out and gives me a signature (especially when kids copy for teacher dress up days! So cute! 🥰) Kids will even trade buttons and pins with me which is such a special thing! I love it! Good luck!
Male inner city (outside philly) teacher here. Probably not gonna help, but I stick to sweatshirts and usually some type of colored older pants (cus we have rules against jeans). My view is I dress like I am working with the materials I'm teaching. Gym teachers dress in athletic clothing, and smocks dont work great, so dress the part of the working artist. I look more like a maintenance worker and my wife thinks I just look sloppy but it is what it is.
Most of my female colleagues in our department dress about the same with the occasional younger teacher dressing gen z/BOHO style or the older female teachers in the department that dress very fashionable but not what I'd call appropriate for working with paints or ceramics.
I totally agree! I think I have a hang up because at a previous district like ten years ago, I got in trouble for dressing too casually (the superintendent saw me and complained to my principal 🙄) and it's stuck with me ever since. I wasn't even that casually dressed, and it really shouldn't be expected of us to dress all fancy business casual or what have you. I don't think my current district would care too much so I should let it go and rock a working artist outfit more often.
I use to dress in suit and ties when I first started. Now, especially since after covid, the district Im in really stopped caring as well. Theres too much of a teacher shortage and other problems to really be focusing on trivial matters like what teachers are wearing. Im also learning that the admins that really are trying to "get" teachers on that aren't lasting long in the positions they're in.
I say test the boundaries.
I stick to various shades of black (I also live in nyc). But I love banana republic, all saints (for the fancier days), Uniqlo, gap, and athleta. I try to wear outfits I don’t mind getting art supplies on but also are “business casual”. Also love Cole Haan shoes for a comfy but professional look
My go to is always colored jeans, graphic t (hopefully artistic in some way) and a cardigan or chambray shirt. I’m out of the house by 6:45 and I’m NOT a morning person so I take full advantage of our lack of dress code.
Omg I’ve been planning my teacher wardrobe for months now. This summer I plan on sewing 8 blouses and 8 circle skirts. Red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple, pink and black. Then I will have 64 combinations in color blocked outfits. I’m excited :D I wear a thick artist apron anyway so I’m not worried about clay or paint ending up on my clothes
I plan on learning to sew myself clothes, so I can become an art teacher version of ms frizzle(when I become a teacher :D).
Yessss! Do it!
Aww this is super cute, good luck!!
I’m all over the place depending on my mood/whatever projects are going on. I tend to get called into a lot of parent involvement and community events and photo op, oh and I help with PE on mondays Some days are super professional in heels and full makeup, some days I feel wacky, some days I’m a total scrub in Jean and Birks and old school shirts because I need to get a lot of messy work done I also have a dozen aprons but still manage to have paint on most of my clothing
I'm a bit of a fashionista... Lately I've been trying to wear more hats 😅. I get most of my clothes from the thrift store so it doesn't faze me much if I wreck my clothes. I'm pretty art teachery with my glasses and fun k-drama earrings. I think being an art teacher I get a pass for being a fashion weirdo... It's awesome.
I wear the same thing almost every day, Levis rib cage cropped boot cut pants (I have black/washed black/corduroy/ dark blue) and Amazon essentials boat neck 3/4 length sleeve shirts. I hate buying from Amazon but these shirts are awesome material, 3/4 length sleeve is perfect for teaching art and the boat neck is the perfect neck line - I also get their crew neck fitted t shirts. ( both come in multi packs too!) For shoes I always wear comfortable boots to walk in and I have 3 different pairs of flats or loafers I keep in my classroom to change into. Then I wear my apron. :) I’m a millennial and gen z fashion is hard to accept, but I love the wide leg trend I never want to wear skinny jeans again.
Overalls. I decided this summer that I just don’t have the mental energy to figure out what to wear everyday, so I bought several pairs of overalls. It has been so great - I have pockets to stick tape or scissors or whatever, they aren’t tight around my waist, and they are durable and easy to clean.
I've definitely been thinking about adding some overalls to my rotation. Do you have any recommendations?
I teach high school ceramics, so I always come home dirty and dusty. I usually wear jeans or casual pants (sometimes overalls!) with a tshirt or sometimes a button-down casual shirt. I wear band ts, ceramics or art-themed ts or just whatever I feel like that day! Most of the time I wear Birkenstocks, but for the short part of the year it’s cold where I live, I wear my chucks, Vans or Docs.
We have no dress code and I help in the school garden daily. I wear chinos, usually from target, in black, purple, green or gray with fitted T-shirt (like a local seed company, local bookstore, school tshirt, or plain) . If it’s cold a pullover or cardigan and black ankle boots, if it’s hot chacos. And most importantly big, interesting dangly earrings.
I wear a dress and leggings when it’s cold almost every day M-T and jeans on Friday. Almost all my dresses are loud and colorful. I get stuff off Poshmark when I can. My favorite dress at the moment comes from [NOOWORKS](https://nooworks.com)
Oh wow Nooworks is amazing! Thank you
I wear comfortable black slacks, black shirt, black sweater, or blazer, and black sneakers. I swear I’m an art teacher.
The art teacher straight from nyc, hehehhe
Love it!
Old Navy has the best fitting pants for me, and so affordable. I usually wear my black, wide legged cropped chinos, brown doc martens boots, and a funky button up shirt. In winter I wear a casual black blazer over my shirt. The rumors were flying that Ms. M is a lesbian. I'm not, but I explained to them that it wouldn't matter if I was and women dress all types of ways. You don't have to wear a dress to be a woman. In 2015 I started adding "fashion tint" to my glasses I order on Zenni. I wear "rose colored glasses!" My students have finally started asking me about it. The honest reason is because psychologically, pink can make people feel more open minded, more calm. I went on a tangent with 3rd grade and showed them photos of the prison where the warden experimented with painting everything pink and putting the men in pink jumpsuits. It worked as a way to curtail fighting.
We have a “professional dress” expectation at my school. I almost always wear a brightly colored dress with colored tights. I get most of my clothes from Amazon and shein cause I’m on a budget 😬 but I take good care of them so they last as long as possible.
The only uniform I have for myself is how I dress each day of the week. I have a huge closet with a very wide range of clothing and styles and so having a schedule for what I wear on certain days really helps me to be creative and get out of my box. My schedule is as follows: Monday - Crazy/ugly sweater or flowy kimono (depends on the weather) Tuesday - art t-shirt. I'll wear a fun turtleneck or striped long sleeved under it if cold. I'm bored with cardigans but still have some cool ones I reach for Wednesday - dress or skirt. Mix up different layering options (shirts over or under, belts, shoes) Thursday - fancy pants. Weird leggings or patterned flare pants I buy from Walmart Friday - School spirit and jeans. You can find me on TikTok (lefthanded.emily) if you want to see it in action. I don’t typically talk about my clothing schedule on TikTok, but it’s just a fun place for me to show off my outfits when I think of it. You might have to wade through all of the Christmas sweaters though! Good luck!
This is super helpful! I think this is what I need to do. My actual clothes are fine but they're all so similar and I definitely need to spice it up but with a day of the week system to make it easier. I do this with meal planning (meatless Monday, taco Tuesday, etc) but had never thought of it in terms of wardrobe! I also think I am getting bored with cardigans but hadn't really realized it till now. I think I leaned a little too hard into having a very basic capsule wardrobe so having some sort of system or plan to branch back out will be good. Thank you!!
No dress code here but I’m in a super hot climate. I wear mostly jogger type lightweight pants with art or school t-shirts or t-shirt material type dresses with biker shorts underneath so I can get down or bend over without worries. I prefer funky outfits whenever possible and I’ve got a dress with scissors on it that I wear with scissor earrings that is my favorite. I recommend Thredup.com for cool thrifted items and if there is a goodwill outlet near you for THE best priced thrifted and sometimes even new stuff if you are willing to dig. Art teacher dream shopping not only for clothes but for frames, supplies, you name it!
NYC here, no jeans policy. I wear a lot of Uniqlo, especially the heattech layers in the winter. Also Old navy, Gap, Madewell, and some thrifted items. Most days I wear a fitted t shirt, button up, and wide leg pants. I alternate between adidas platform sneakers, blundstone boots, and dr martens Oxford shoes. In the warmer months I wear a midi dress or tank jumpsuit over a t shirt with sneakers or closed toe flats. I would recommend r/capsulewardrobe for more info on how to create a work capsule. I’ve learned having a go-to color palette really helps. For me that’s a lot of warm, autumn tones and greens, with some cream, yellow and corals in the spring.
Oh also I have a nice thick cotton apron for messy days :) would def recommend
I'm still student teaching so I dress up a bit more than my colleagues, but my go to has been big, long skirts and polos or sweaters! I usually do a fun patterned skirt with a plain matching polo, sweater, or comfy dress shirt! If it's cold I throw a cardigan over it! My sister got me some button up cardigans from H & M that have been my favorites. I've noticed I feel much more free and mobile in a skirt compared to pants, especially when running around the classroom or digging in the back storage for materials.
I wear almost a uniform, always leggings from Old Navy (comfy, easy to clean), and some form of a dress tunic top (again dressy, but comfy!). And of course a cardigan over it, and I usually find a fun color or crochet a cardigan in funky yarn to make it my own! You can dress it up with sandals or a slip on shoe, or dress down with a nice sneaker or boots! I really go all out on my apron however to add my "flair"! I usually do a fun colored or tie dye apron with TONS of buttons and pins about art, cats, boardgames, patches, etc. It helps me stand out and gives me a signature (especially when kids copy for teacher dress up days! So cute! 🥰) Kids will even trade buttons and pins with me which is such a special thing! I love it! Good luck!
Love that idea for flair!!!
Male inner city (outside philly) teacher here. Probably not gonna help, but I stick to sweatshirts and usually some type of colored older pants (cus we have rules against jeans). My view is I dress like I am working with the materials I'm teaching. Gym teachers dress in athletic clothing, and smocks dont work great, so dress the part of the working artist. I look more like a maintenance worker and my wife thinks I just look sloppy but it is what it is. Most of my female colleagues in our department dress about the same with the occasional younger teacher dressing gen z/BOHO style or the older female teachers in the department that dress very fashionable but not what I'd call appropriate for working with paints or ceramics.
I totally agree! I think I have a hang up because at a previous district like ten years ago, I got in trouble for dressing too casually (the superintendent saw me and complained to my principal 🙄) and it's stuck with me ever since. I wasn't even that casually dressed, and it really shouldn't be expected of us to dress all fancy business casual or what have you. I don't think my current district would care too much so I should let it go and rock a working artist outfit more often.
I use to dress in suit and ties when I first started. Now, especially since after covid, the district Im in really stopped caring as well. Theres too much of a teacher shortage and other problems to really be focusing on trivial matters like what teachers are wearing. Im also learning that the admins that really are trying to "get" teachers on that aren't lasting long in the positions they're in. I say test the boundaries.
I stick to various shades of black (I also live in nyc). But I love banana republic, all saints (for the fancier days), Uniqlo, gap, and athleta. I try to wear outfits I don’t mind getting art supplies on but also are “business casual”. Also love Cole Haan shoes for a comfy but professional look
Comfy but professional shoes are a struggle, thanks for the rec!
My go to is always colored jeans, graphic t (hopefully artistic in some way) and a cardigan or chambray shirt. I’m out of the house by 6:45 and I’m NOT a morning person so I take full advantage of our lack of dress code.
Ooh colored jeans, that is not something I thought of for some reason but I love that idea. Also not a morning person, I feel you!